The two goals Landon Donovan scored during the group stage of the 2010 World Cup weren’t just crucial, they were indicative of the approach that has made the 29-year-old attacker the most accomplished player in U.S. national team history. It’s a style that, in several ways, is appropriate.

Americans are goal-oriented and direct. They seize opportunities. That’s what Donovan did as the second half opened against Slovenia, then as it closed against Algeria five days later. He saw a sliver of space and attacked it with speed and purpose.

Arguably his country’s most talented player, Donovan is at his best when he’s confident and running at a defense with a head of steam. Clint Dempsey, who may have his own recent claim on Donovan’s title, is an ideal complement. The 28-year-old Texan can create scoring chances out of thin air. He’s fearless, skillful and a threat from just about anywhere on the field.

Neither Donovan nor Dempsey would be considered deliberate. They don’t help their team establish rhythm. They grab hold of a game in a heartbeat.

If a team is a reflection of its top talent, than Jurgen Klinsmann’s U.S. side is at a compelling cultural crossroads as it prepares for its third game with the German legend at the helm, Tuesday against Belgium in Brussels (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Klinsmann has spoken a great deal about the importance of style since he took over from Bob Bradley in late July. He has argued that it’s crucial for a national team to adopt a consistent pattern of play, and that style should “reflect the mentality and culture” of the people the team represents.

“One of my challenges will be to find a way to define how a U.S. team should represent its country. What should be the style of play? Is it more proactive and aggressive, a forward-thinking style of play? Or is it more reacting style of play,” Klinsmann asked shortly after his appointment.

The style born from the talents of Donovan and Dempsey indeed reflects a certain American mentality, which Klinsmann (a 13-year resident of Southern California) described as one that “never really waits and sees and leaves it up to other people to decide what is next.”

To Klinsmann, that translates into a “proactive style of play where you would like to impose a little bit the game on your opponent, instead of sitting back and waiting for what your opponent is doing and react to it.”

After two games in charge, it appears that Klinsmann has a slightly different sense about what imposing yourself on an opponent may mean. The definition of dominating soccer has evolved over the past few years, thanks to the phenomenon that is FC Barcelona. The Catalans’ ruthlessness comes not from the sort of direct, blink-of-an-eye attack favored by Donovan and Dempsey, but from peerless technical skill and impossibly intricate passing that forces the opposition to defend and chase until it unravels.

It’s a style that stresses technique over strength, and patience over impulsiveness. It’s one that has won fans the world over, including within the U.S. Soccer Federation, where former national team captain and current youth technical director Claudio Reyna has instituted a curriculum for young players that focuses on comfort with the ball. Klinsmann mentioned Barcelona style at his introductory news conference.

“It is a starting point if you say we want to start to keep possession,” Klinsmann said when asked to describe how he wants his team to play. “We want to start to dictate the pace of the game. We want to challenge our players to improve technically in order to keep the ball.”

To that end, Klinsmann appears to have chosen to highlight a previously underappreciated aspect of American soccer culture – the Latino player. He’s brought several into his first two camps, most notably midfielder José Torres, a 23-year-old playmaker from Northeast Texas who ran afoul of former coach Bob Bradley during last summer’s World Cup.

Klinsmann has resurrected Torres’ national team career and thrust him into the spotlight, playing him for all but six minutes of the past two games. And Torres has performed well, helping the U.S. possess the ball, bringing his teammates into the game and switching the point of attack.

Torres plays in a spot on the field behind the striker(s) that was left empty under Bradley. As a result, the roles of the players around him change somewhat, as does the speed of play. Torres brings all the deliberate rhythm and pause to the game that Donovan and Dempsey lack.

The question is whether the decorated veterans can adapt to, then thrive, in Klinsmann’s new system. It appeared to work for most of the first half in Friday’s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, but the possession didn’t translate into goals. Donovan seemed stifled at times, both against Mexico on Aug. 10 and against Costa Rica.

“We’ve spent a lot of time training. We’ve spent a lot of time on the field trying to understand what he wants us to do ... and as time goes on we’ll get better,” Donovan told reporters after the Friday’s game.

Donovan didn’t accompany the team to Brussels and won’t play Tuesday. It’ll be Dempsey’s turn – the Fulham star hasn’t worn a U.S. uniform since June’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

Eventually, if Torres maintains his role, the trio will play together and Klinsmann will start to get a good idea of whether his evolution in American soccer style can work. It represents a departure from the way the team played under Bradley, but perhaps it’s a more honest reflection of a multicultural country. Either way, it’s the early story of Klinsmann’s national team tenure.